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Friday, March 29, 2013

Pasta on the go

Finally a day without obligations. I decided to take it easy, watch a movie, but then I had too much energy and I started cooking. I love the idea of packaged lunches in a mason jar; first of all, mason jar are beautiful, second, the food is stored in glass and not plastic, and third it can be reheated in the microwave, beautifully portable for lunches and picnics, even for the little ones. I made one of my favorite pastas, placed a handful of baby spinach in the mason jar and the hot pasta on top. The hot pasta will wilt the spinach slightly but it keeps fresh until the pasta is reheated and mixed in.

Pasta in a Mason Jar

4 oz penne, cooked according to instructions

Sauce:

3 TB ff cottage cheese

2 TB part-skim ricotta cheese

1 TB shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 can low-sodium crushed tomatoes

1 ts sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

salt, pepper

1 TB grated Parmesan

1/3 package baby spinach, fresh

3 Mason jars

Cook the pasta according to instructions. Drain. Combine the cottage cheese, ricotta, and mozzarella in a bowl and stir with a fork and set aside.

Heat the oil in a larger saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, oregano, rosemary, chili flakes, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Return cheese mix and pasta to saute pan, and mix gently. Place baby spinach in mason jar, and 1/3 of the pasta on top. Close with lid. Refigerator at most for 1-2 days.